3 ms·

The right device at the right time can spur all kinds of revolutions. Sous vide water bath cooking was based on a laboratory immersion heaters, the WRT54g rout

The right device at the right time can spur all kinds of revolutions. Sous vide water bath cooking was based on a laboratory immersion heaters, the WRT54g router spawned OpenWRT et al., commodity arc welders became a key part of carbon 60 research, XBox Kinect sensors got repurposed for all sorts of proximity hacks. The recent fad for particular brands of child oriented power banks in the through hiking community is the most recent one I can think of. So therefore it’s a long shot, but this device or a device like it could be the mutation that causes a Cambrian explosion in mobile hardware, albeit one where you ahen apparently need to glue the screen on yourself, post delivery. (See the below-fold video.) I cross every one of my fingers!

nine_k 10mo ago
Now it needs a 4G / 5G modem, and a camera, and it could be a compact phone,
redundantly 10mo ago
> The recent fad for particular brands of child oriented power banks in the through hiking community is the most recent one I can think of. This sounds interesting. Can you elaborate?
- throwaway89201 10mo ago
  It doesn't fit into the list as a revolution (or even 'evolution') as it's just a high-density, compact and cheap battery [1] that turns out to be quite unsafe [2]. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45322135 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45322135 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46071317 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46071317
- sho_hn 10mo ago
  It's probably a reference to the Haribo power bank thing (which appears to be poorly made and dangerous).
- gorgoiler 10mo ago
  Through a chance piece of design, the leading power pack in terms of energy density is made by / branded on behalf of Haribo, a confectionary company: https://www.ultralightnerd.com/index.php/2025/06/26/haribo-mini-power-bank-review-the-lightest-20000-mah-battery-in-the-world/ https://www.ultralightnerd.com/index.php/2025/06/26/haribo-m... What’s interesting is, like the other products, it was designed and marketed for one purpose but has become very popular for another. (Although in this case it could well just be a fashion, especially given how uniquely identifiable the product is.)
  - cachius 10mo ago
    The main aspect of the design for popularity being low price, bought with subpar quality. It will fade soon after recent examination mentioned in sister comments to yours. It was to good/cheap to be true.
  - jdiez17 10mo ago
    I read some analysis about specifically this battery pack, that shows it may not be the bee's knees: https://www.lumafield.com/first-article/posts/whats-hiding-inside-haribos-power-bank-and-headphones https://www.lumafield.com/first-article/posts/whats-hiding-i...
Toony 10mo ago
>The right device at the right time can spur all kinds of revolutions. for me it's 11" tablet, I'm saving for this. prey for me y'all.
russdill 10mo ago
Seems like there's still a bit of work to go: 1. The device restarts after running for a while after Wi-Fi is enabled. The problem may be due to insufficient power supply. 2. Overheating: The chip may overheat and restart.
Philpax 10mo ago
> The right device at the right time can spur all kinds of revolutions. But can they run Half-Life 2?

nine_k 10mo ago

Now it needs a 4G / 5G modem, and a camera, and it could be a compact phone,

redundantly 10mo ago

> The recent fad for particular brands of child oriented power banks in the through hiking community is the most recent one I can think of. This sounds interesting. Can you elaborate?

throwaway89201 10mo ago
It doesn't fit into the list as a revolution (or even 'evolution') as it's just a high-density, compact and cheap battery [1] that turns out to be quite unsafe [2]. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45322135 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45322135 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46071317 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46071317
sho_hn 10mo ago
It's probably a reference to the Haribo power bank thing (which appears to be poorly made and dangerous).
gorgoiler 10mo ago
Through a chance piece of design, the leading power pack in terms of energy density is made by / branded on behalf of Haribo, a confectionary company: https://www.ultralightnerd.com/index.php/2025/06/26/haribo-mini-power-bank-review-the-lightest-20000-mah-battery-in-the-world/ https://www.ultralightnerd.com/index.php/2025/06/26/haribo-m... What’s interesting is, like the other products, it was designed and marketed for one purpose but has become very popular for another. (Although in this case it could well just be a fashion, especially given how uniquely identifiable the product is.)
- cachius 10mo ago
  The main aspect of the design for popularity being low price, bought with subpar quality. It will fade soon after recent examination mentioned in sister comments to yours. It was to good/cheap to be true.
- jdiez17 10mo ago
  I read some analysis about specifically this battery pack, that shows it may not be the bee's knees: https://www.lumafield.com/first-article/posts/whats-hiding-inside-haribos-power-bank-and-headphones https://www.lumafield.com/first-article/posts/whats-hiding-i...

Toony 10mo ago

>The right device at the right time can spur all kinds of revolutions. for me it's 11" tablet, I'm saving for this. prey for me y'all.

russdill 10mo ago

Seems like there's still a bit of work to go: 1. The device restarts after running for a while after Wi-Fi is enabled. The problem may be due to insufficient power supply. 2. Overheating: The chip may overheat and restart.

Philpax 10mo ago

> The right device at the right time can spur all kinds of revolutions. But can they run Half-Life 2?